• Only 29 guests on board and 12 attentive crew this is a luxury dive trip on the Great Barrier Reef 
• Our Yongala wreck dive tour from Townsville offers our guests up to 29 dives over a 7 night period on our 30mt luxury dive boat 
• Our dive boats skipper, executive chef and crew will service your cabins daily just like a floating luxury 5 star hotel. You will enjoy high quality meals every single day with your particular dietary requirements fully catered for. 

Dive the world famous Yongala wreck off Townsville on the Great Barrier Reef on our new Yongala Wreck & Coral Sea Expedition over 6 nights and enjoy up to 27 dives into the deep blue sea

Our multi award winning Great Barrier Reef dive tour company originally started here in the waters just off Townsville in 1969 and we have been the pioneers in exploring the depths of the Great Barrier Reef north and south ever since with our famous dive trips on our luxury dive boats.

On our newly created 7 night Yongla Wreck and Coral Sea Expedition we will begin and end up in Townsville. This is a liveaboard dive trip for those that are advanced or have 15 logged ocean dives inc.5 in the last 12 months and it involves mega marine life wreck diving. 

Our luxury dive boat has just recently undergone a refit during the pandemic and is now back in the water for these new ultime dive trips on the Great Barrier Reef. She has twin hulls that provide stability in the water and a more comfortable ride. She is 30m in length and also offer lots of space for guests to laze about or socialise as they desire.

With only 28-29 guests we have 12 crew on deck who will attend to your cabin daily and ensure that your liveaboard dive trip is the best that it could possibly be.  

During our Yongala and Coral Sea Expedition divers can do up to 29 dives exploring wrecks caves and caverns. 

Departure Dates (current as of 02/09/23):

2024 Departure dates: 7 March, 11 April
2025 Departure dates: 6 March

Why is Yongala The Most Desired Wreck Dive In Australia?

Since the unfortunate sinking on 23rd March 1911, the ship has been lying dormant on the ocean floor of the Great Barrier Reef and over time it has grown massive varieties of Corals and thus attracted mega marine life to inhabit the wreck. The Yongala wreck is known as one of the worlds best dive sites due to the size and prolific varieties of marine life that now call the wreck home.  

Experts in the region say you will see more marine life and fish in just one dive on the Yongala wreck tha you will see on 10 dives in outher Great Barrier Reef locations so if that is not enough to get you to book a dive trip to Yongala then not sure what else will.  

Luxury Dive Boat Accommodation

Premium – queen or double bed, private bathroom, ocean views.
Standard – twin beds, private bathroom, ocean views.
Club – twin bunk beds, private bathroom, no ocean view.
Budget – twin bunk beds, share bathroom, no ocean view.

Yongala Wreck & Coral Sea Highlights

Townsville Dive Tours

7 Night Yongala Wreck & Coral Sea Expedition featuring:

Wheeler Reef – Explore this pristine platform reef with white sands and spectacular coral gardens, schooling fish, sharks, turtles and rays.

SS Yongala – Australia’s largest, most intact historic shipwreck which sank in 1911, resting 14-28m below the surface. Claimed to be one of the worlds ‘top ten’ wrecks, the Yongala is renowned for its incredible diversity and abundance of marine life. Giant Queensland groupers, sea snakes, shovel-nosed rays and huge schools of fish abound at the Yongala.

Flinders Reef – Spectacular walls with vertical drops in excess of 300m  (1000ft) and 40m (120ft +) visibility. Bommies and reefs are smothered with both soft and hard corals at dive sites ‘Trigger Happy and ‘ Fan Fair’. Huge soft coral trees, fans and sea whips decorate ‘Cod Wall’ where the ancient Gigantus Gorgonia fan spans over 5 meters. Sharks tuna and barracuda patrol the reef slopes drop offs, and fish school around the edges of the reefs where the currents diverge.

Yangala Wreck Dive & Coral Sea Expedition

Sample Itinerary

Itinerary (Townsville to Townsville – 29 dives)

Sample itinerary, subject to change based on conditions.

Please note: Expedition boarding in Townsville & disembarking in Cairns, (commercial flight to Townsville not included and to be arranged by yourself).

Thursday

Check-in 5:30 pm, 6 pm Departure on Spoilsport at Breakwater Marina, Townsville.
Please note that dinner is not provided on the first evening so you may wish to eat before boarding.
Enjoy a glass of champagne and light snacks while your Trip Director provides a full briefing.
Time to organise any rental equipment and put your dive gear together on the dive deck.

Friday, Wheeler Reef, SS Yongala Wreck: (4 dives + night dive)

6:30 am: Wake up call, light breakfast available in dining room
7:00 am: Dive brief & diving commences
9:00 am: Full cooked breakfast
10:30 am: Dive brief & diving. “Open decks” accommodate 1-2 dives either am or pm
2:00 pm: Lunch
3:30 pm: Dive brief & diving
4:30 pm: Afternoon tea
6:30 pm: Night dive brief & dive
8:00 pm: Dinner

Saturday, SS Yongala: (4 dives + night dive)

As above.
7am to 2pm ‘Open Deck’ at SS Yongala (3 Dives)
Afternoon and night spent at ‘Old Reef’

Sunday – Tuesday, Flinders Reef (4dives + night dive)

Cod Wall, Geronimo’s, Watanabe, Rock Arch, Fan Fair, Trigger Happy
As above

Wednesday, Coral Sea: (4dives)

As above (no night dive), exit last dive 5pm
As the sun sets, we pour the champagne as we ready for an Aussie BBQ party night. Don’t forget to wear your loudest tropical shirt or dress and sing along to music played by our talented crew
Spoilsport cruises overnight to Townsville

Thursday:

7:00 am:  Light breakfast
8:00 am:  Disembark and courtesy transfer to Townsville inner city hotel or the airport.

Important:

We recommend that you allow 24 hours between your last dive and your onward flight (all diving is finished by 5pm Wednesday)

Wheeler Reef

A popular dive site located about 100km from Townsville. With an average visibility of 30m plus and dive site depths ranging from 2m to 30m, perfect dive profiles and long bottom times are easily achievable. Wheeler is rated as one of the best night dives on the reef, so enjoy.

Yongala Wreck

This world class shipwreck is the one of the key subjects in Sir David Attenborough’s  documentary on the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef. Recognised as one of world’s best historic wreck dive sites, this 111m wreck lies on its starboard side in 30m of water. Sunk in a cyclone on 23 March 1911, she is now home to a spectacular concentration of marine life.

Flinders Reef

Spectacular walls with vertical drops in excess of 300m  (1000ft) and 40m (120ft +) visibility. Bommies and reefs are smothered with both soft and hard corals at dive sites ‘Trigger Happy and ‘ Fan Fair’. Huge soft coral trees, fans and sea whips decorate ‘Cod Wall’ where the ancient Gigantus Gorgonia fan spans over 5 meters. Sharks tuna and barracuda patrol the reef slopes drop offs, and fish school around the edges of the reefs where the currents diverge.

View more liveaboard dive trips from Townsvile and dive trips from Cairns and specialised marine life encounters like dive with sharks and swim with Minke whales.

Read our whale blog.

Tour Languages Offered

• English

Departs From

Townsville city

Departure Time

6.00pm

Departure Instructions

• Check-in 5:30 pm, 6 pm Departure on Spoilsport at Breakwater Marina, Townsville. Please note that dinner is not provided on the first evening so you may wish to eat before boarding.
• Returns Thursdays

Destinations

• Yongala Wreck
• Wheeler Reef
• Flinders Reef/Flinders Cay

Months of Operation

March - April

Days of Operation

Thursday

2024 Departure dates: 7 March, 11 April
2025 Departure dates: 6 March

Duration

7 nights

Available for Purchase / Hire

• Dive Courses
• Photo Services
• Gear Hire, Wetsuits, Gloves, Tanks, GPS, BCD, Computer, Snorkel Gear, Light/Torch
• Nitrox fills
• Pony bottle & Reg
• Steel Bottle
• Please note that the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority requires us to collect an Environmental Management Charge of $7 per day spent on the Great Barrier Reef and Yongala Mooring fee of $13.55/day. This amount will be added to your bar bill at the end of your expedition.

Fitness Level Required

Active

Restrictions

Scuba Diving – minimum age 12

IN-WATER RESTRICTIONS

Scuba Diving Restrictions

• Certain medical conditions and medications may preclude some people from scuba diving.
• Participation is subject to a medical questionnaire completed on board with the tour operator
• Minimum age for scuba diving is 12 years.
• Flying after scuba diving: a wait of 12 hours is recommended after one dive, 18 hour after 2 dives and at least 24 hours after multiple dives, before ascending to an altitude of 300 metres or greater.

Read more about Diving Safety on the Great Barrier Reef.

• Camera (charged)
• Cash for drinks and snacks
• Cash or credit card
• Hat
• Sunglasses
• Sunscreen
• Swimming costume
• Towel
• Personal toiletries, hair dryer, medication, T shirts, shorts, sweat pants - Also your loudes shirt/dress for the final BBQ evening

Not Suitable for children